Selfishly Sad!

Last Saturday was a day Lindsey has been counting down to for a long time - she got to go back home!!!! She will still be coming to Memphis for a few days every two weeks or so for treatments, but there's something to be said for being in your own HOME the majority of the time.

A lot of people are under the impression that now that Lindsey is at home, life is back to normal. But she still has to stay EXTREMELY isolated. The doctors said her immune system is comparable to that of a very premature newborn. So public places, even walking around in the fresh air (I guess because of mold, spores, etc) is a no no. It's just going to take time for her immune system to get stronger, so pray for those cells to get going!

She and my mom lived at the Target House while they were here. The Target House is designed specifically for long term and bone marrow transplant patients at St. Jude. They do so much to make the patients' time there as enjoyable as is possible given the circumstances. When a patient leaves, Target House asks that they leave a 12x12 "artwork" of what the Target House meant to them. Lindsey wanted pictures of family and friends and words describing her time there. We got together and made this for her collage.
It's so great that they got to go home. But I was sad to see them go. I've gotten to spend more time with my family these past few months then I have in years. Aubrey is always saying "I want GiGi" (our name for grandma) or "I want Papa" (grandpa). If I need to bribe her, saying "Do you want to go see Lindsey" gets her to do just about anything I want. My family has been such a huge help to us. The night we pulled in here from Pittsburgh, they were at our house with the essentials-toilet paper, dish washing soap, and take out. And so many more things since then! From spending days on the phone helping us sort out a brief medical/insurance scare to reorganizing my entire kitchen to babysitting Aubrey, no wonder I'm sad to see them go :) I look forward to visiting in a few weeks!

The last couple days my family was here, we went to a fiesta put on by St. Jude and then a carnival put on by Target House. We met a few famous faces, Shaun White, Amy Grant, Blake Lewis (hello, from American Idol! The white beat boxer). And Aubrey had a blast with my family. She wants little to do with me when they're around. Does it hurt my feelings? Heck no, it's bliss!

In case you didn't recognize her, that's Amy Grant singing and playing the guitar below. We were waiting in line to get our picture with her, just behind a family with a small boy, probably 4 years old, in a wheel chair. Lindsey had met them a few times, and his situation was not good. Besides a cancerous tumor wrapped around his brain stem, he was partially paralyzed, had a trach and oxygen tank, and was barely cognitive when I saw him. After the parents told Amy that they planned to play one of her songs at his wedding for the first dance, she sat down and sang to him. I think about that wedding dance a lot. I hope it takes place one day. I think about that family's 12x12 artwork that they will make when they leave the Target House. What will it say? Will they be leaving on a happy note? And I think about those parents, and my parents and parents of kids with cancer in general. If you're looking for an example of someone courageous and strong and completely selfless, look no further.

Dress Drama

There wasn't any drama with the actual making of the dress. It was actually refreshingly quick and easy. The only part I'm not happy with is the neckline. It was my first time "shirring" and it didn't gather as snugly as I was hoping. But all in all, I like it and will make more! It's the Claire Portabello Pixie pattern from Sandi Henderson if you want to make one of your own!

The drama stemmed from trying to get some pictures of this little stinker in her dress. All day I'd been chasing her and trying to wrestle the dress onto her. I'd long since given up and was later sternly talking to her about something else naughty she'd done when she asked to put on her dress and grabbed her "pretty hair" stuff (detangler, comb, hair clip). A blatant attempt to smooth me over and distract me from my lecture, and did it work...you betcha! We ran out to take pictures in the fading light, but....

This is all she really wanted to do outside.

And this is what she did when I took the car away to try and get some slightly classier pictures. Not that power wheels aren't super classy :), just not quite what I had envisioned.

Bright and early in the AM of the next day....back in the saddle again, pjs, bed hair...

Dora slippers and all

So we'll just let her ride off into the sunset for now....at least you got an idea of what the dress looks like, even if they weren't the cutest pictures!

How the sewing blog came to be....

I've never had much intention of trying to sell home made things, especially sewing related ones, because it just doesn't seem to be a very profitable use of time. You can only charge so much for items, and when I've really added up the nickels and dimes I've spent divided by the time I've put in, I'd say I'm looking at making $5 an hour. Crafts are not my ticket out of the poorhouse to say the least. BUT....people at the hospital have been saying to Lindsey for a long time that they want to buy a bag like hers (she has 2 of the infamous birdie slings) so I made 6 of them to see if I could make a little money since people were asking (and mostly because I'm desperate to buy a new camera lens and would do almost anything to earn the money!). Since a website is the easiest way to display items, I stuck the bags on a little blog, which I couldn't bear to just leave in the Minima White template, so then I made a blog header, which required a name, and and for me to make a matching background. So here you have it....

We'll see if this new blog has any longevity. I might add some wipes cases, burp clothes, etc if I'm feeling ambitious. We'll have to see! But the best part about this is that my mom and Lindsey have been coming up when I make the bags to help with Aubrey and with making the bags. It's been a fun thing to do together! Lindsey makes a good bag model too!

In other sewing news, here's another little set of creations (matching nursing cover and wipes case) that I made for a recent baby shower here. I love how sweet and soft and girly they look!

And finally, a little something something for myself. I made myself another purse a while back, and then a diaper and wipes bag, and finally finished the matching wipes case. I love how the little scrap flower turned out. Such a cute case to house things that I wipe poop with, doesn't make much sense!I also made Aubs a little dress that I'll be posting pics of soon and more flannel blankets then I care to count! But for a good cause, some baby showers and even better, a church service project to donate blankets to a local NICU.

Well, now that I have a family blog, and a photo blog, and a craft/sewing/selling whatever you want to call it blog, I guess all I need now is to make a recipe blog ;) Haha...I'll start it off with my recipe for Easy Mac.

Sunshine and my girl

This girl, she stopped up the bathroom sink and flooded the bathroom, hit me, bit me, and threw a block at me all at the same time, threw macaroni and cheese all over the living room carpet, all before nap time and yet....I adore her! I live for her kisses and squeezes (hugs) and giggles.

Don't you love little friendships!

It occurred to me before I started shooting the video that I should pick up some of the toys on the floor, so we didn't look so trashy on film. However, it only JUST occurred to me that if I was really hoping to steer clear of the white trash look, maybe I should have put a shirt on my toddler? It worries me a little that it took me weeks to notice this! Listen to her laugh here! She just figured out that flashlights drive Lulu crazy. I know a 53 second video is a commitment, but it's pretty darn funny.

Botanic Gardens

In Pittsburgh, I liked knowing the fun places to go in town and made an effort to stay informed of special events and deals and the like. I am SO not that person here right now. Luckily, some of my friends are, and now that I'm seeing more of Memphis then just the grocery store, I think I could just grow attached to this place too. We'll see!

Last week a group of girls and toddlers and babies went to the Botanic Gardens. Doesn't sound much fun for kids, right? But they have a fabulous children's area with playgrounds and playhouses and all sorts of cute whimsical gardens. Had I not been so hot and exhausted by the time I carried Aubrey out of there (because she won't sit in a stroller or walk if she's cranky), I would have been back already. Once the weather gets cooler, I'll be seeing that place again I'm sure.

fun colors, cute little hands

Don't be fooled, she wasn't cooperating for pictures. This was a lucky shot of her, sigh...

you can buy bags of fish food and feed these crazy goldfish - this was a hit with the kids. I know you're thinking about how tragic Aubrey's hair looks, it's horrendous. She won't keep hair ties or clips or anything in, so she runs around looking like Pigpen from Peanuts-all sweat and dirt all the time.

I took lots of other pictures there too, but stuck them over on my photo blog. Check them out here to see some of the other cute stuff at the gardens!